IC card having a reinforcing member for reinforcing a sealing member

ABSTRACT

In an IC card in which an IC module constituted by a terminal plate 1 having a connection terminal pattern(3), arranged on a surface of an insulating substrate (2), for external power supply, signal connection, and grounding, an IC chip (4) mounted on the rear surface of the terminal plate 1 and electrically coupled to the connection terminal pattern (3), a sealing member (5) for the IC chip, and a reinforcing member (6) for reinforcing the sealing member (5) is mounted on a card base, the reinforcing member (6) consists of a conduction material, and integrally constituted by a ring portion (7) for covering the outer periphery of the sealing member (5) and a flange portion (8), having almost the same shape as that of the outer periphery of the terminal plate (1), for covering the rear surface of the insulating substrate (2). Therefore, an IC card which is strong to damage caused by disconnection of a bonding wire due to peeling between the insulating substrate and the sealing member caused by external force can be provided at low cost.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an IC card used as various cards suchas a cash card or a credit card and, more particularly, to an IC card inwhich an IC module mounted on the IC card is reinforced.

BACKGROUND ART

In an IC card used as various cards, precious data are stored. For thisreason, an IC module mounted on the IC card also requires reliability.

A conventional IC module, as shown in FIG. 8, is constituted by aterminal plate 1 in which connection terminal patterns 3 for externalpower supply, signal connection, and grounding are arranged on onesurface of an insulating substrate 2, an IC chip 4 arranged on the rearsurface of the terminal plate 1, bonding wires 15 for electricallyconnecting pad portions of the IC chip 4 to the rear surfaces of theconnection terminal patterns 3 through holes 16 of the insulatingsubstrate 2, and a sealing member 5, consisting of an insulating resin,for protecting the IC chip 4 and the bonding wires 15.

In using, keeping, or the like of IC cards, the IC cards tend to be veryeasily influenced by external force such as bending or impact. For thisreason, external force also acts on the IC modules such that the ICmodules are damaged.

Therefore, in a prior art, as shown in FIG. 9, a ring-shaped reinforcingmember 60, consisting of a hard material such as metal or ceramic, forreinforcing the sealing member 5 is attached, and external force isreceived by the reinforcing member 60 to make a device for preventingdamage of an IC module. However, even in this structure, damage causedby external force cannot be sufficiently prevented.

More specifically, two types of manners are mainly known as damagemanners of an IC module. One is caused by cracking of the IC chip 4, andthe other is caused by disconnection of the bonding wires 15 due topeeling between the insulating substrate 2 and the sealing member 5 asshown in FIG. 10.

In this case, an IC module in which a conventional ring-shapedreinforcing member 60 shown in FIG. 9 is provided is sufficientlyeffective in reinforcement for the cracking of the IC chip 4. However,this IC module is not sufficiently effective in preventing disconnectionof the bonding wires 15 caused by the latter peeling between theinsulating substrate 2 and the sealing member 5 because prevention ofpeeling depends on the adhesive strength between the reinforcing member60 and the insulating substrate 2 only by an adhesive agent 13 andbecause the adhesive strength depends on the strength of the insulatingsubstrate 2 itself.

In other words, when external force shown in FIG. 10 acts on theterminal plate 1, the insulating substrate 2 is relatively easily peeledfrom the reinforcing member 60. For this reason, not only the sealingmember 5 but also the bonding wires 15 are disadvantageouslydisconnected.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the abovecircumstances, and has as its object to provide a low-cost IC card whichcan prevent disconnection of a bonding wire caused by peeling between aninsulating substrate and a sealing member by external force and which isstrong as a whole card.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In order to achieve the above object, according to the presentinvention, in an IC card in which an IC module constituted by a terminalplate having a connection terminal pattern, arranged on a surface of aninsulating substrate, for external power supply, signal connection, andgrounding, an IC chip mounted on the rear surface of the terminal plateand electrically coupled to the connection terminal pattern, a sealingmember for the IC chip, and a reinforcing member for reinforcing thesealing member is mounted on a card base, the reinforcing member isintegrally constituted by at least a ring portion for covering the outerperiphery of the sealing member and a flange portion for covering therear surface of the insulating substrate.

According to the IC card with the above arrangement, the reinforcingmember constituted by the ring portion and the flange portion receivesexternal force acting between the insulating substrate and the sealingmember. For this reason, the reinforcing member prevents the insulatingsubstrate from being peeled from the sealing member to preventdisconnection of the bonding wire caused by the peeling. As a result, ahighly reliable IC card in which an accident that an IC module isdamaged rarely occurs can be provided.

The invention of a second aspect is arranged such that the reinforcingmember is constituted by a conductive member, and is electricallyconnected to the grounding connection terminal pattern. As the concretearrangement, according to the invention of a third aspect, theinsulating substrate has a through hole formed at a positioncorresponding to the grounding connection terminal pattern, and thereinforcing member has a projection portion projecting toward theinsulating substrate. In the invention of the third aspect, theprojection portion is fitted in the through hole to position thereinforcing member, and the reinforcing member is electrically connectedto the grounding connection terminal pattern.

According to the IC card with the arrangement, since the reinforcingmember is electrically connected to the grounding connection terminalpattern through the projection portion, the IC is not damaged byelectrostatic discharging from a capacitor formed by the terminalpattern and the reinforcing member, and a shield effect can be expected.

The invention of a forth aspect is arranged such that the ring portionof the reinforcing member has a reinforcing rib located at the above ICchip.

According to the IC card with the arrangement, impact acting on the ICchip is received by the rib to prevent the IC chip from being damaged.For this reason, the IC card which is strong to external force can beobtained.

The invention of a fifth aspect is arranged such that the outerperiphery of the flange portion of the reinforcing member has almost thesame shape as that of the outer periphery of the terminal plate. Theinvention of a sixth aspect is arranged such that the flange portion isadhered to the insulating substrate with an adhesive agent. Theinvention of a seventh aspect is arranged such that the flange portionis adhered to a card base with an adhesive agent. In addition, theinvention of a eighth aspect is arranged such that a plurality of windowholes is provided for forming escape portions for an excessive adhesiveagent.

According to the IC card with the above arrangement, the terminal plateis entirely protected by the flange portion, and the terminal plate canstrongly withstand external force acting on the IC module. Since thelayers of the adhesive agent for adhering the flange portion to thereinforcing member and to the insulating substrate are thin and strong,not only the strength of the IC module can be highly improved, but alsothe IC module can be fixedly mounted on the base. As a result, the wholeof the IC card can be made more solid.

The inventions according to ninth to eleventh aspects are arranged suchthat the reinforcing members are manufactured by drawing of a thinplate, forging, and casting, respectively.

According to the IC card with the arrangement, since the reinforcingmember can be mass-produced, a low-cost IC card can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an IC module of an IC card according to anembodiment of the present invention when viewed from a mounting side ofan IC chip;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the IC module taken along line 2--2 inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the IC module taken along line 3--3 inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the IC module shown in FIG. 1 when viewed froma connection terminal pattern side;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing deformation of the IC module shown inFIG. 1 caused by external force;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the IC card on which the IC module shownin FIG. 1 is mounted;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an IC module according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a conventional IC module;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of an IC module with a conventionalreinforcing member; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a peeling state of the IC modulewith the conventional reinforcing member caused by external force.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below withreference to the drawings.

The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same parts shownin FIG. 9 or FIG. 10, to omit the explanations.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an IC module according to this embodimenthas a terminal plate 1 in which connection terminal patterns 3 arearranged on one surface of an insulating substrate 2, an IC chip 4arranged on the rear surface of the terminal plate 1 and sealed by thesealing member 5, and bonding wires 15 for electrically connecting padportions of the IC chip 4 to the rear surfaces of the connectionterminal patterns 3 through holes 16 of the insulating substrate 2.

The reinforcing member 6 consists of a conductive material, and isintegrally constituted by a ring portion 7 for covering the outerperiphery of the sealing member 5 and a flange portion 8 for coveringthe insulating substrate 2. The shape of the outer periphery of theflange portion 8 has the same shape as that of the outer periphery ofthe terminal plate 1. The flange portion 8 is adhered to the insulatingsubstrate 2 of the terminal plate 1 with an adhesive agent 13.

As shown in FIG. 3, the insulating substrate 2 has a through hole 10 ata position corresponding to a grounding connection terminal pattern 9.The reinforcing member 6 has a projection portion 11 projecting towardthe insulating substrate 2. The projection portion 11 is fitted in thethrough hole 10 to position the reinforcing member 6.

The reinforcing member 6 is electrically connected to the groundingconnection terminal pattern 9 through the projection portions 11 and aconductive member 17 such as a conductive adhesive agent. In thismanner, the IC is not damaged by electrostatic discharging from acapacitor formed by the terminal pattern 9 and the reinforcing member 6,and a shield effect can be expected.

The ring portion 7 of the reinforcing member 6, as shown in FIG. 1 andFIG. 2, has a reinforcing rib 12 located above the IC chip 4 to improvethe strength of the reinforcing member 6 and to protect the IC chip 4from impacting external force. In the flange portion 8, a plurality ofwindow holes 14 constituting adhesive agent puddles is formed. Theadhesive agent 13 escapes from the window hole 14 to decrease thethickness of the adhesive agent layer, thereby improving the adhesivestrength.

With this arrangement, external force P acting in the direction of anarrow in FIG. 5 is received by the reinforcing member 6. For thisreason, the insulating substrate 2 is not peeled from the sealing member5. As a result, a strong IC card structure which is not damaged bydisconnection of the bonding wire 15 is obtained.

The reinforcing member 6 according to this embodiment is obtained byforming the various holes and the outer shape by trimming after drawingof a metal plate, and is manufactured by press working using progressivedies. For this reason, the parts cost of the reinforcing member 6 islow.

In mounting the IC module on a card base 18 for completing an IC card,as shown in FIG. 6, the IC module is engaged with a module mountingrecessed portion 18a formed in the card base 18. The IC module isadhesively fixed to the recessed portion 18a of the card base 18 with anadhesive agent coated on the flange portion 8 of the reinforcing member6. In this case, since an excessive part of the adhesive agent betweenthe flange portion 8 and the recessed portion 18a of the card base 18escapes from the window hole 14 of the adhesive agent puddle, a thinadhesive agent layer is formed to improve the adhesive force.

The reinforcing member 6 can also be manufactured by forging or casting.In this case, a reinforcing member 6 shown in FIG. 7 is obtained.

As has been described above, according to the present invention, sincethe resistance of the IC module to external force can be improved, anaccident that the IC module is damaged by disconnection of a bondingwire caused by peeling between an insulating substrate and a sealingmember can be prevented, and a highly reliable IC card can be provided.In addition, since the IC module can be fixedly mounted on the cardbase, the whole of the IC card can be made solid.

Industrial Applicability

The present invention is suitably used, as an IC card having areinforced IC module mounted on the card, in various cards such as acash card or a credit card.

What is claimed is:
 1. An IC card comprising:a card base, and an ICmodule mounted on the card base and including an insulating substrate; aterminal plate arranged on a surface of the insulating substrate andhaving connection terminal patterns for external power supply, signalconnection, and grounding; an IC chip mounted on a rear surface of theterminal plate and electrically coupled to the connection terminalpatterns; a sealing member for the IC chip; and a reinforcing member forrinforcing the sealing member integrally formed of at least a ringportion for covering an outer periphery of the sealing member and aflange portion for covering a rear surface of the insulating substrate,said reinforcing member being made of a conductive member andelectrically connected to the connection terminal pattern for grounding.2. The IC card according to claim 1, wherein the insulating substratehas a through hole formed at a position corresponding to the connectionterminal pattern for grounding, the reinforcing member has a projectionportion projecting toward the insulating substrate, the projectionportion is fitted in the through hole to position the reinforcingmember, and the reinforcing member is electrically connected to theconnection terminal pattern for grounding.
 3. The IC card according toclaim 1, wherein an outer periphery of the flange portion of thereinforcing member has almost a same shape as that of an outer peripheryof the terminal plate.
 4. The IC card according to claim 1, wherein theflange portion is adhered to the insulating substrate with an adhesiveagent.
 5. The IC card according to claim 4, wherein said flange portionincludes a plurality of window holes for forming escape portions for anexcessive adhesive agent.
 6. The IC card according to claim 1, whereinthe flange portion is adhered to the card base with an adhesive agent.7. The IC card according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member ismanufactured by drawing of a thin plate.
 8. The IC card according toclaim 1, wherein the reinforcing member is manufactured by forging. 9.The IC card according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing member ismanufactured by casting.
 10. An IC card comprising:a card base, and anIC module mounted on the card base and including an insulatingsubstrate; a terminal plate arranged on a surface of the insulatingsubstrate and having connection terminal patterns for external powersupply, signal connection, and grounding; an IC chip mounted on a rearsurface of the terminal plate and electrically coupled to the connectionterminal patterns; a sealing member for the IC chip; and a reinforcingmember for reinforcing the sealing member integrally formed of at leasta ring portion for covering an outer periphery of the sealing member anda flange portion for covering a rear surface of the insulatingsubstrate, said ring portion having a reinforcing rib located above theIC chip.
 11. The IC card according to claim 10, wherein the insulatingsubstrate has a through hole formed at a position corresponding to theconnection terminal pattern for grounding, the reinforcing member has aprojection portion projecting toward the insulating substrate, theprojection portion is fitted in the through hole to position thereinforcing member, and the reinforcing member is electrically connectedto the connection terminal pattern for grounding.
 12. The IC cardaccording to claim 10, wherein an outer periphery of the flange portionof the reinforcing member has almost a same shape as that of an outerperiphery of the terminal plate.
 13. The IC card according to claim 10,wherein the flange portion is adhered to the insulating substrate withan adhesive agent.
 14. The IC card according to claim 10, wherein theflange portion is adhered to the card base with an adhesive agent. 15.The IC card according to claim 13, wherein said flange portion includesa plurality of window holes for forming escape portions for an excessiveadhesive agent.
 16. The IC card according to claim 10, wherein thereinforcing member is manufactured by drawing of a thin plate.
 17. TheIC card according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcing member ismanufactured by forging.
 18. The IC card according to claim 10, whereinthe reinforcing member is manufactured by casting.